“There is nothing where you wake up one day and go, ‘Oh, I can talk,'” Mary tells Nash Country Weekly. “It’s the little things — the extra word, the extra sound, the extra lap we make in rehab. It certainly puts life in perspective as far as what we need to focus on.”

Mary says that for Travis, music has been a "huge part of the rehabilitation process.” She explains that often singing songs comes easier than talking for the star.

In February, Travis made his first performance since his stroke when he performed "Amazing Grace" at a friend's funeral. “I don’t know that he thought he was ready for it, but he sang through all four verses," she remarks. "It was beautiful.”

A huge fan of Charlie Daniels — who was also announced as being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 — Travis, Daniels and producer Fred Foster all hail from North Carolina.

“He’s always been so fond of Charlie Daniels,” Mary says. “There has always just been this big-brother-little-brother feel between the two of them.”

Earlier that morning, Mary took the podium with Travis to address those in attendance during the Hall of Fame announcement. In a heartfelt speech, she revealed how close she had come to losing Travis in 2013.

“They really said there was no hope; go ahead and pull the plug,” she admits. “I went to his bedside and I said, ‘Baby, you’ve got to give me some more fight.’ And I knew that he had had a little talk with Jesus, because he squeezed my hand, and a little tear fell down,” she continues, choking back tears herself. “And I knew that he wasn’t through yet.”